EU new car registrations drop 6.6% in April

Europe

Published: 16 May, 2017

Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce

Led by double-digit decline in the UK market, the number of new passenger cars registered in the EU dropped ‐6.6% to 1,191,034 units in April 2017; attributed to the result of Easter falling in April this year.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), most of the major European markets saw demand fall in April 2017, with the UK posting a double‐digit drop (‐19.8%), followed by Germany (‐8%), France (‐6%) and Italy (‐4.6%). Only the Spanish market registered growth in the month, recording a slight increase (+1.1%). Positive contributions mainly came from the so‐called EU‐12 countries (+8.2%), those member states that have joined the EU since 2004.

From January to April 2017, demand for passenger cars remained positive (+4.7%), totalling 5,332,854 units. According to ACEA, Italy (+8%), Spain (+6.1%), Germany (+2.5%), France (+2%) and the UK (+1.1%) all saw their markets grow during the first four months of the year, despite the declines observed in April.

Overall, Volkswagen Group's sales dropped 8.8% in the EU. With the exception of Seat (+15% in April 2017 thanks to the new Ateca SUV), demand for all the other brands of the Group were down; VW brand (-13.8%), Audi (-10.3%), Skoda (-4.8%) and Porsche (-16.2%).

In April 2017, EU sales of the BMW and Mercedes premium brands declined 5.5% and 0.9%, respectively. Volvo also registered a decline (-4.1%), while the Jaguar Land Rover Group scored a negative -16.6%; -18.3% for LR and -12.4% for Jaguar.